Domestic violence support worker jobs in ipswich, suffolk
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Main purpose of job: To provide specialist advocacy support to a caseload of clients with complex mental health needs, including support around housing, finances, health, domestic abuse and other issues. The role may also involve occasionally supporting CARA groups.
Start date: As soon as possible (subject to Enhanced DBS Check and satisfactory references).
Salary: £28,344 - £30,469 per annum.
Contract: Permanent contract.
Hours: Full time, 35 hours a week.
Place of work: To work flexibly across CARA premises in Colchester with regular travel across mid and north Essex, including Braintree, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester and Dunmow. The post may also involve some remote working, if a suitable home working environment is available.
Holiday: 25 days per year pro-rata, plus additional closure days between Christmas and New Year.
To apply: Please complete the application form, which can be downloaded from our website explaining how your skills and experience relate to the person specification. Applications must specifically address each essential and desirable criteria, giving evidence from previous experience or qualifications.
Application deadline: as soon as possible. We will be reviewing applications and shortlisting candidates to interview as applications are received.
Interviews: To be arranged as suitable applications received.
This post is restricted to women applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1.
Job Description
To provide advocacy support to a caseload of clients with complex mental health needs, including support around housing, finances, health, domestic abuse and other issues. CARA’s advocacy service focuses primarily on meeting the needs of some of our most complex clients – victims and survivors who would be unable to access other advocacy services. The role will also involve supporting the wider CARA team in signposting other clients to external advocacy agencies, as appropriate and attendance at CARA groups to provide a drop-in advocacy surgery.
Main Responsibilities
·To manage a caseload of complex clients seeking short and long-term advocacy support, including support around housing, finances, health, domestic abuse and other issues.
·To manage referrals in to CARA’s Advocacy service, ensuring clients meet the referral criteria.
·To provide line-management for CARA’s social care placement worker and potential future advocacy volunteers.
·To assess all new referrals to CARA’s advocacy services, allocating cases to members of the advocacy team, as appropriate.
·To liaise with other agencies, receiving and making referrals and ensuring that they understand CARA’s role and services.
·To gather information about local and national agencies and manage storage and display of this material at CARA. To work with CARA’s Integrated Support and Advocacy Manager to create a directory of services that can be used by all the CARA team.
·To support CARA’s group work, including attendance to provide advocacy support and supporting other activities.
·To attend regular team meetings and to work with colleagues to further the objectives of CARA.
·To maintain and collate evaluation data, testimonials or case studies for distribution.
·To adhere to CARA’s organisational policies and procedures, including safeguarding procedures.
·To report to the Integrated Support and Advocacy Manager, Head of Operations, Chief Executive Officer and Trustees as required, including the production of written reports.
·To be administratively self-servicing.
·To undertake any other activities as required by the Integrated Support and Advocacy Manager, Head of Operations, Chief Executive Officer and Trustees.
About CARA
CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) works with victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs.
CARA is a registered charity working with adults of all genders, young people and children from across mid and north Essex. We have a head office in Colchester and outreach premises in Braintree, Chelmsford, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Dunmow and Harwich. We also provide remote services.
CARA seeks to be an inclusive organisation that actively encourages, supports and values diversity amongst both our service-users and our workers. We wish to create a culture in which discrimination, in all its forms, is recognised and addressed.
You can read more about CARA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion on our website. We encourage and welcome applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds.
About Synergy East
CARA is part of Synergy East and we work closely with SERICC Rape and Sexual Abuse Specialist Service and Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis) to deliver the contract for the Office for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex for services for victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse across Essex.
Registered Charity 
21 - 50
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Start date: Mid-August 2025 (subject to Enhanced DBS Check and satisfactory references).
Salary: £36,411 - £38,261 per annum, pro rata.
Hours: 35 hours a week, with some flexibility possible.
Contract: This is a 9 month maternity cover contract, with possibility of extension to 12 months
Place of work: To work flexibly at CARA premises across mid and north Essex, including Braintree, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester, Harwich and Dunmow, with some remote home working.
Holiday: 25 days per year pro-rata, plus additional closure days between Christmas and New Year.
To apply: Please complete the application form, which can be downloaded from our website, explaining how your skills and experience relate to the person specification.
Applications must specifically address each essential and desirable criteria, giving evidence from previous experience or qualifications.
Application deadline: 10am, Monday 2nd June 2025
Interviews: Monday 9th June 2025
Start date: Mid-August, subject to receipt of satisfactory references and enhanced DBS check.
Mandatory Training Dates: To be confirmed.
This post is restricted to women applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1.
Job Description
The role of CARA’s Child and Young Person’s Practice Manager is to lead CARA’s teams of Young Person’s Practitioners and Child and Family Practitioners and manage the provision of specialist sexual violence counselling for young people, play therapy and support for parents and carers. The post holder may hold a small caseload of clients and undertake some assessments, but the main emphasis of this role will be on the management, support and coordination of the team.
This is a varied and interesting role, giving the post holder opportunity to lead a talented and committed team of practitioners. As well as overseeing day-to-day operations of the team, the post holder will be part of CARA’s management team and will have the opportunity to play a key role in CARA’s wider development, working closely with the CEO and Deputy CEO. The post holder will work with our sister centres, SERICC and SOS Rape Crisis to gain an understanding of Child and Young Person’s services across Essex and coordinate these as appropriate.
Main Responsibilities
Leadership and Management
• To manage all operational aspects of CARA’s Child and Young Person’s Practice, including overseeing the delivery of our specialist young person’s counselling service, play therapy and support for parents and carers. This may also include managing any new Child and Young Person’s Practice projects that CARA develops.
• To work in accordance with CARA’s policies and procedures and embed a feminist approach in CARA activities.
• To co-ordinate, review and develop effective processes within the Child and Young Person’s Practice, working closely with the Deputy CEO, the Young Person’s Practitioners and the Child and Family Practitioners.
• To line-manage a team of Young Person’s and Child and Family Practitioners, providing day-to-day support, monitoring performance and identifying training and development needs. This will include keeping up to date notes of line management meetings and conducting and recording annual staff appraisals.
• Work with our Adult Practice Manager to oversee the work of a wider team of sessional counsellors, including supporting Practitioners in line managing sessional and volunteer counsellors and identifying training needs. This will include helping to co-ordinate a monthly sessional and volunteer counsellor meeting.
• To support practitioners and sessional counsellors in maintaining up-to-date client records and ensure that gaps in data are proactively addressed, as required.
• To work with CARA’s Deputy CEO to recruit and train new staff and sessional and volunteer counsellors, as required.
• To lead regular Young Person’s Practice and Child and Family Practice meetings, producing notes to share with team members and with senior management.
• To maintain an overview of waiting lists, working closely with practitioners and with the Deputy CEO and CEO to ensure that staff and resources are deployed effectively.
• To keep up to date with relevant legislation, policy and practice issues, including BACP and child safeguarding guidance and ensure the practitioners are aware of changes.
• To liaise with CARA’s other teams and more widely with Synergy Essex teams, resolving problems and ensuring good communication and mutual understanding of respective roles and ways of operating.
• To liaise with external agencies, including children’s mental health and social care, ensuring CARA is represented at meetings as required and developing effective relationships to ensure our services co-ordinate with statutory and voluntary services.
• To be part of the CARA management team and attend regular management team meetings, contributing to CARA’s ongoing development.
Counselling and client support
• To oversee client work within the teams, working closely with all team members to resolve client issues and ensure high quality service provision.
• To undertake client assessments and make appropriate arrangements for support.
• To provide specialist counselling for young people and/or play therapy for children and support for their parents, holding a small caseload of clients.
• To keep client records up to date.
• To work flexibly at CARA centres across mid and north Essex, providing face-to-face and remote sessions, as required.
General
• To work flexible hours, including some evening work and occasional weekends.
• To participate in CARA team meetings, supervision, training and development.
• To provide specialist advice to other workers and agencies, including participation in delivery of training sessions.
• To raise awareness of sexual violence and its impact in the community and within other agencies.
• To keep appropriate records in accordance with CARA policies and procedures.
• To adhere in full to all CARA’s organisational policies and procedures, including safeguarding procedures.
• To be administratively self-servicing.
• To report to the Deputy CEO, CEO and Trustees as required, including the production of regular written reports and verbal reports.
• To undertake any other related activities as required by the Deputy CEO, CEO or the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
About CARA
CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) works with victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs.
CARA is a registered charity working with adults of all genders, young people and children from across mid and north Essex. We have a head office in Colchester and outreach premises in Braintree, Chelmsford, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Dunmow and Harwich. We also provide remote services.
CARA seeks to be an inclusive organisation that actively encourages, supports and values diversity amongst both our service-users and our workers. We wish to create a culture in which discrimination, in all its forms, is recognised and addressed.
You can read more about CARA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion here. We encourage and welcome applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds.
About Synergy East
CARA is part of Synergy East and we work closely with South Essex-based SERICC and Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis) to deliver the contract for the Office for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex for services for victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse across Essex.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.